FAA seeks proposals to create six US drone test sites

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday asked for proposals to develop six research and test sites for unmanned aircraft systems, or drones, around the United States.

Congress directed the FAA in 2012 to establish the program to conduct critical research into how best to safely integrate the unmanned aircarft into the national airspace.

Under the FAA proposal each test site operator must ensure that its privacy policies conform to Fair Information Practice Principles, a framework at the core of numerous federal and state privacy laws.

A 60-day public comment period is planned, and during that time FAA plans an online listening session to solicit additional comments on its proposed privacy steps.

Selection of the sites is expected later this year.

(Reporting By Ros Krasny; Editing by Leslie Gevirtz)